Hot. Dam hot. So dam hot.

That's the first thing I have to say about Perth. I know what you're thinking, 'yes it's Australia it's going to be hot', 'everyone told you it was going to be hot', but honestly I thought people were just exaggerating.  But no, it has been 36 degrees and they are the strongest UV rays I've ever felt, even the locals say it is not usually this hot for this long (some walking trips I looked at have been cancelled until it gets cooler).  Due to this I haven't seen as much as I would have liked so I will space more trips over the next few days.

Yesterday morning is what nearly killed me; I looked out of the window from my air conditioned room, saw some people on their way to work in suits and thought 'well it looks warm but not that bad' so decided to ease myself in gently by going on a 5 hour walk around Perth and up to Kings Park.  What I didn't bank on was just how hot it was and also on my journey I found myself at the bottom of 'Jacob's ladder' and needing to climb it to get to Kings Park.  Jacob's Ladder being a set of 242 stairs leading from a road up to the park, it's used by residents for 'good exercise' and a team happened to be climbing when I was, this said team included some ladies who were behind me, so obviously wanting to impress them I climbed the steps very quickly without a stop, got to the top, went out of sight, then basically collapsed.

Once I had got my breath, had some water and stopped sweating dangerous amounts I walked around Kings Park.  The park was nice and had great views of the lake and Perth, also had lots of different trees and stuff (plants are not my forte), some pictures are below.  I probably spent about two hours looking round then decided to head back before I started to cook.  Got back to the hotel, had a cold shower, power nap then had a browse around Perth's shops. In the evening I just sat at the waterfront and ate a doner kebab (I know they are bad but I just had one to check they taste the same as back home...which they do).

One thing I love about Perth (and it was the same in Sydney so maybe Australia in general)  is the amount of people out jogging, in Kings Park and all along the waterfront there are loads of people jogging along.  When I jog down the A5 back home all I get some bemused looks from drivers, but here it is the norm.

Today was less exciting, I went to Commonwealth Bank and opened an account, then went to Telstra and got myself an ozzie number, that number is 0061477504551 (in case anyone needs to contact me in an emergency).  I then walked around the shops, got myself a maccies, nursed my sunburned neck and found myself a hostel.  From tomorrow the luxuries stop, it's a 6 bed dorm room for me, I'll be staying at the 'Backpacker City and Surf' located in the northern area of Perth (the lively bit).

I'll do another posted in a few days once I've got around the city a bit more.